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What Comes with Civil Rights?

September 18, 2015/in /by Ilyanna Camacho-luna

Civil rights a time when People of Color primarily African Americans wanted to be treated like citizens, to be equal to the white man. Martin Luther King Jr. Lead the way with the people to demand the pass of the civil rights bill. Except it was not only the African Americans who wanted to be treated equally. Many of the white population agreed that the deserved the same treatment they received. So with that in mind the people decided to take up writing to Congress man Harold T. (BIZZ) Johnson.

I was able to read through letters primarily from Chico, CA in October 1963. Within this letters to Congress man Bizz Johnson the people spoke out and urged for the bill to be passed. Everyone of the letters in my fill agreed that people of color deserved the same rights. They saw them as their equals.

Out of the say 75 letters 1 particulate stood out to me it was from a white woman named Sherry Fish sent in on October 1, 1963.

What captured me about this letter was that one of her first statements about how she felt in that point in time. She said in the beginning of the third paragraph “Negros are demanding excessive rights and not equal rights with the whites.” She than backs it up talking about an incident that happened in Oroville, where a store was picketed for discrimination. This was not the issue of course the issue was that after the owner admitted his wrong they continued to picket. This is a perfect example the excursiveness that was going on during this movement.

Sherry’s next example would be how in Boston segregation was something that almost agreed upon. That the city was divided by Race; Italian, Irish-Catholic, white, and black they in turn had their own stores, school, etc. This isn’t something she agreed with but said how it worked in that city.

Sherry Fish was about equality she even Mentioned two successful individuals a Navy Commander and a Judge who were of African American decent. She just believed that in order to gain the respect of the community it is important to make an effort. Sherry mentions the Asian community and how they are respected because they strive for education, and respect from their peers. I agree this should be something to want but it should not be the grounds to be treated equally.

All in all I believe Sherry Fish’s letter had the best content and truly explained the reality of the situation. The process of getting the Civil Rights Bill passed was not at all easy. Sherry captured the reality of what was happening on the streets but correlated it with the positive African American to bring to the community. She comes of to be a very smart well rounded woman who believed in what was right but also believed that it is something that should not be taken to an excessive point such as violence. Sherry Fish reminds me of myself in the sense that there is a right to equality but it should never be accomplished in extreme measures.

Civil Rights Movement

September 18, 2015/in /by Cindy Mijangos

This week in my University 198 class we read archives again, this time the folder of archives that I had were about the Civil Rights Bill. The folder had letters to Bizz Johnson, most of the letters I came across were written from high school students. Most of the high school students were taking an American Government course. They were writing to Bizz Johnson because they wanted to know his views on the Civil Rights that had recently been issued in 1963. While I was readin Civil Rights Movement letter g the letters from high school student I realized that most of them said the same things that they wanted Johnson to support the Civil Rights Bill. Usually I would expect adults writing letter to congress because they usually know the most about politics but I came across a letter written by a second grade teacher. Only she wasn’t writing on her behalf, she was writing for her students. This specific letter isn’t as long as the ones the high school students wrote. It still caught my attention because even the second graders, Gregg, Dan, Cindy, Ganet, Gale, Jana, and Rogger, knew about this bill. When I was in elementary school I don’t remember knowing about anything to do with politics besides the president’s name at the time. That was honestly shocking because children back then knew what was going on around them without having to find out through social media like most people now a days.

Many events occurred in 1963 that caused the Civil Rights Movement. In Baltimore, students from Morgan State and Howard Universities got together forcefully to end segregation. Some of these students went to jail because of their protest. A week later city officials agreed to end segregation of North wood Theater. In Cambridge, Maryland the city was in the longest unemployment time in a U.S community since the end of reconstruction. This happened because the Cambridge Nonviolent Action Committee tried to end segregation in local venues. The people who participated in any of those events were only trying to end segregation. The civil rights movement was for the African Americans and so that they can have equal rights everywhere they go. In the 1960’s was when the government was taking action on segregation.

We are lucky to live in a country with equal rights. People back in the days were segregated by color. Therefor, people of color had their own restroom, schools etc. Imagine how much African Americans struggled. They got discriminated just because of their skin color and race. How would you feel if you got discriminated because of your skin color or race? Since now a days there isn’t discrimination we don’t think about how our lives would be different if we lived before the Civil Rights movement. We wouldn’t be friends with certain people we’re friends with now. Thinking about it I wouldn’t like to live in that time because I am blessed to have my friends even if they are a different race than I am. Having friends of different race is an amazing thing because you get exposed to different cultures instead of just your own.

Stereotypes

September 18, 2015/in /by Kaia-joan Tollefson

Stereotypes are made without people even knowing they are doing it and there is no way to stop yourself from stereotyping. Being educated on the subject and knowing what you’re talking about will help you to be more positive. The article states that “If you think all the media does is stereotype, you are stereotyping the media.” The media does provoke many stereotypes, but what they show on television or in movies is meant to make sure the individual that’s watching the program stays entertained and engaged. Age, race, gender, and sexual orientation are all associated with stereotypes and generalizations. The difference between the two of them, in my eyes, is that when you generalize something you put it into a group, like the example of different ethnic restaurants. Stereotypes are more negative and personal, like the example of Filipino men all being sexual predators.

Blog 2- Alexa Ellen

September 18, 2015/in /by Kaia-joan Tollefson

After reading this article i realized that generalizations and labels are necessary for communication, understanding the world around us and grouping. However labeling and making generalizations can quickly turn into a negative stereotype. It is human nature for people to make generalizations in our heads to help us understand the world but i think its important to understand that every person is an individual and simply because they are a certain race, or gender it doesn’t automatically clump them into your generalization you have created. For example, I grew up in a very wealthy suburban area so when I drive through Inglewood, or Compton I have assumed this area is dangerous, and even in the day time I will feel cautious. I think my sheltered upbringing has created a skewed perspective on what lower income communities are like.This generalization does hold some truth because there is in fact gangs and crime in the area, however it becomes a negative stereotype when you begin to judge individuals based on the towns they live it. My lack of exposure to a community with more racial diversity causes me to turn my generalizations into unfair stereotypes at times. Although Inglewood and Compton do intact have dangerous areas i still should not stereotype every individual that lives there.In addition, i can partially blame television for giving me this generalization in the first place being that our local news channels discuss only crime in these areas rather than any good stories.

Blog #2— Struggling with stereotypes

September 18, 2015/in /by Kaia-joan Tollefson

i found it interesting that the article say that we need labels to communicate. i always was taught that it was wrong to label people. however, i see where they are coming from when they say that “Labels enable us to talk about religion,ethnicity…” etc. because if you did not label a group by lets say religion, then how would you know what religion they belonged to. It also states that “…labels can have their downsides”. For instance, by putting certain labels on people it can become offensive.

Childhood and Stereotypes

September 18, 2015/in /by Kaia-joan Tollefson

I thought it was interesting that Sternheimer brought up the idea that childhood and children mean different things to all of us. As a society, we cannot even agree on an age at which childhood begins and ends. Furthermore, everyone experiences childhood differently depending on your social status, living environment, ethnicity, and immigration status. I agree that it is hard to tell wether media is “destroying” childhood, but I also agree that childhood changes from generation to generation. There is more information out there now from when I was younger.

From the stereotypes article, what I found interesting was how students need to learn the difference between generalizations and stereotypes. However, how can someone have a generalized idea about a specific group of people without it being stereotypical? Another thing I found interesting is that we cannot avoid using labels and “without them we wouldn’t be able to communicate about social issues, international relations, or historical events.”

“To prepare rather than protect empowers children to make their own decisions, armed with necessary information.”
How does everyone feel about his idea?

In Oneness We Are BEING.

September 18, 2015/in /by Malina Maeda

“Now this opportunity is at hand to make good this promise to extend all Americans regardless of race or religion the normal, everyday privileges that many of us take for granted– and to which we pay lip service” (Menke).

On October 22, 1963 a civil rights citizen named Wayne G. Menke from 1120 Wendy Way Chico, California had written a letter to Harold T. Johnson stating his deep concern for equal rights to ALL Americans. Menke’s deep passion for this pressing matter awoke something within me. He wrote the letter in a manner that stood out to me coming from this time period. The way he expressed the need for the House of Representatives to whole heartedly support “…the civil rights program proposed by President Kennedy” (Menke), gave me reassurance that he had personal experience with this issue. The words Lip service caught my eye (in the same respect that I have to those around me) wouldn’t be possible without people like Wayne G. Menke who participated in this so called “service”. He talked about things being right and just to where in that time period, it didn’t seem possible. People like Menke had hope and held onto that because it seems to me like that’s really all people of color from the 60’s could do. They weren’t asking for white priviledges, they were just asking for minimal respect from society. Respect, the importance of this word reminds me that we’re ALL one.

“I think that the greatest fear of the whites is Negro domination of our government” (Carpenter).

In the other perspective, on October 5, 1963 a white woman named Joan Carpenter from 2124 Zune Avenue Chico, California had written a letter to Harold T. Johnson addressing her point of view on segregation. This eye opening letter confirmed for me the naivety of the pro segregation side of society. It was as clear as day when reading that Joan Carpenter thought that, “..the Negroes on the whole are just a little bit lazy and tend to be more delinquent” (Carpenter). This is the kind of lip service that I despise looking at. Judgement not only takes away the credibility of the writer but gives them no evidential basis to stand on.

“The committees are considering each and every one of these in drafting a bill (Civil Rights Act of 1963) to be presented to the Congress” (Johnson).

Coming back to civil rights, I believe we can all agree on the need for equality. This is a sense of comfortability in an environment that comes from the underlying respect that we have for one another. How can we have that respect now if it was’t addressed back then? I properly see that all Wayne G. Menke wanted to see was practicality in the actions of racial equality in society. As the Member of Congress, Harold T. (Bizz) Johnson responds in the uncertainty of how The House of Representatives will go about this issue, it gives me a greater perspective on the government’s lack of immediate support for civil rights.

Pols 300 Ass #2: Analyzing Constituency Mail

September 18, 2015/in /by Jeffrey Rodriguez

L R Clenots mailed his concerns to congress on May 6^th 1971. In the letter Clenot’s main concern was to emphasize the importance of ending the war since he had spent a year in Korea in 1950 and had a horrible experience first hand. From his tone of voice Clenots lost his faith in government and now trusted and sided with the high school/ college students and their protests to end the war in Vietnam.

In the letter, Clenots states that there were warnings when he arrived in Korea on signs so the U.S. soldiers could see stating that the government and the soldiers should leave. “Your leaders are wonton War mongers”, “Yankee go home”, ‘I believe them now.’ Clenots was a Veteran from the Korean conflict that saw nothing positive from the war and so when he attended the Madison protest, he saw how the government was indeed a blood thirsty entity that fueled the war being that it dispersed the people using military force and tear gas instead of listening to what they had to say. This letter is powerful not only in the way that it was worded but also because of the perspective that it was written through.

Clements was resentful in the letter when he realized how blindly he had obeyed and trusted the government, when he was finally able to see through the lying loopholes of politicians like president Nixon at the time having be that he stated, “I have a plan.” This is a valid and reliable source because the author of the article described how the protest when about and the reactions of the protesters as they threw rocks and he even goes about to make a political cartoon showing how sees, “ A man scuffle(s) with an anti-war demonstrator in front of the Madison Federal Building to wrest protest sign away from her.” This helps give the reader an insight on what Clenots means when he states that he now trusts in the youth and their perspective on the issue of the war because we can see from a 1^st perspective what he lived through and why it is that he felt that day when he mailed that letter in.

Primary Source: Chicago Times – http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1971/05/06/page/2/article/madison-protesters-dispersed

At the end of the passage, Clenot states, “If our government and KKK voters persist in viewing life thru Gallup polls and Closed Circuit Tv, then they deserve what is coming to them.” Clenots has taken a resentful view of the government for its actions and although I don’t believe he meant to harm anyone, I do believe he meant the government might suffer economically in the future since war is expensive. An article by Access World News, helps explain KKK voter’s views when the secondary source reports having seen a billboard with KKK’s opinion stating, “Help fight integration and communism.” Clenots states the word Closed Circuit Television in his last paragraph to explain that some supporters of the war like the KKK do not have any idea of what it is like to fight in Vietnam and are supporters only through what they see in their televisions. In this secondary source, Steve Bonner states that these groups such as the KKK are all just racist individuals who spread their ideologies but have no idea the damage they cause to the troops who land in Vietnam and have to do the actual fighting.

Secondary source: Access World News –

http://infoweb.newsbank.com.summit.csuci.edu:2048/resources/doc/nb/news/156F0EFF71187F28?p=AWNB

These two articles help explain the ambiguity seen in the letter to congress by LR Clenots for they give eventful insights of what was happening then and there when the letters were mailed in. Both of these sources are valid and credible because they both come from respected databases.

The Watts Riots: The tragedy of Injustice

September 18, 2015/in /by Sergio Cordon

Throughout the history of the United States there has always been public dispute between African Americans and white people even to this day. Though nowadays it isn’t as bad as it was compared to 50 years ago when police brutality was one of the main causes of it all. Riots occasionally did break out because of white cops abusing black people and arresting them without any evidence to back their claims up. One of the worst in U.S history is probably the Watts riots in L.A. of 1965. It all started one day when two cops scuffled against a black motorist suspected of drunk driving. People began to think this was another example of racially unequal justice. People soon talked back and eventually chaos ensued with many people injured and millions of dollars in property damage that even left some dead. When you think about it it’s no surprised threats and other forms of violence were being done like with this. Think long and hard the next time you think about doing something like that to someone else.

Civil Rights Act 1964

September 18, 2015/in /by Andrew Hauffen

September 18th, 2015

To my understanding, the The Civil Rights Act in 1964 was basically having equality around the nation no matter race, religion, or sex. I had the opportunity to look through some letters during that time period to Congressmen Harold “Bizz” Johnson. Most of the letters I saw were against military’s and the army spending money to fight against African Americans who were protesting in the streets. Some protests turned into riots and it got to a point where people were killing other people. But some of the letters I came across were high school students interested in the Civil Rights Act. They just wanted to know some information about whats happening in the U.S.

This photo is a simple high school student wanting to know Johnson’s views and knowledge of the Civil Rights Act. This student is “deeply interested” in the civil rights issue which he think is so important.

This photo contains a woman wanting to know why money is spent towards the fight against African Americans. She would like to know some information on why this is happening.

These two photos are intriguing because in my opinion it shows that some Americans had no idea what was happening in there country. And I give credit to this Congressmen because in his letters of reply, he is explaining what is happening and why this act is in play. Maybe some responses are a little general but most are pretty specific.

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